Various impact reflecting targets are available for firearms use. See my U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,188,371 and 5,580,063. Such ballistic targets allow sport shooters and marksmen to improve their visual sighting of a bullet's point of impact on the target and therefore their shooting accuracy and skill. Known impact marking targets typically employ a substrate that carries a layer of photoreflective ink having a highly visible color such as yellow or red. This photoreflective ink layer is covered by a thin film of plastic material, with a target image printed on the film. When a bullet or other projectile strikes the target, the impact produces a halo around the periphery of the impact area, which reveals the underlying photoreflective color and thus marks the point of impact.
Although conventional impact marking targets are very helpful to, and popular with shooters and marksmen, they do exhibit a number of limitations. Such targets are produced exclusively and in their entirety at a manufacturing facility by the target manufacturer. As a result, available impact reflecting targets employ a very limited number of color combinations and target designs. These finished and “ready to use” targets also tend to be fairly expensive. There are very few custom, novelty or individualistic target designs available from the target manufacturers because it is unduly costly and inefficient to manufacture, advertise and distribute designs having only a very small or limited customer demand. Likewise, it is inefficient and expensive for target manufacturers to maintain large inventories consisting of many different target designs and/or color schemes. Currently there is simply no opportunity for an individual to obtain a custom designed or personalized target design having an impact marking capability. This constitutes a serious disadvantage for both the consumer/end user and the manufacturer interested in selling targets to individuals in the market for such products.